I posted that last story because it always reminds me to ask the “why” about everything.
I find that asking “Why” often enough will eventually reveal the “What” of the “Why”. The reason for doing something then becomes very clear. If there is no “What”, then most likely what ever is being discussed does not need to be done!
This is how a company running the Semco model operates: the key focus is “What?” and “Why?” The “How” is not important and so it can adapt and change to suit the circumstances.
The many businesses that focus on the “how” are unable to explain the What or the Why of their organisation. Their rigidity maintained by piles of procedures, rules and policies do not allow room to ask “Why”. If it is asked the answer will be: “We have always done it that way”.
What the company actually does, and why it does it. What it does best, why it does things a certain way. No body really knows.
That’s what will make the difference between a company for the 21st century and one that remains in the 20th.
Our world is changing rapidly, information is more readily available than ever before, challenges now affect the entire world.
Adapt or perish!
Jeremiah Josey's Blog 